• January 7, 2009

The U.S. Justice Department Tuesday said Publicis' Chicago-based Leo Burnett unit has agreed to pay the U.S. government $15.5 million to settle allegations that it submitted false claims to the U.S. Army. Burnett had a contract from 2000 to 2005 with the Army to provide advertising services for the military service's recruiting mission, and the settlement resolves allegations that the agency improperly billed the Army while developing the recruiting Web site and for advertising under the "Army of One" multimedia advertising campaign.

Leo Burnett will make a cash payment of $12.1 million and credit the Army $3.4 million in work performed, but not billed. The settlement resolves the lawsuit filed on behalf of the U.S. government by former Burnett employees, Greg Hamilton and Michele Casey, who received $2,790,000 as their share of the recovery in the case. Under the False Claims Act, private citizens can bring suit on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery obtained by the government.

The litigation and settlement of this case were conducted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois and the Justice Department's Civil Division.